flattery
noun
the act of flattering.
flattery
1 American
[flat-uh-ree]
/ ˈflæt ə ri /
noun
-
flatteries
plural
-
the act of flattering.
-
a flattering compliment or speech; excessive, insincere praise.
- Synonyms:
- pandering, sycophancy
Flattery
2
American
[flat-ree]
/ ˈflæt ri /
noun
flattery
British
/ ˈflætərɪ /
noun
-
the act of flattering
-
excessive or insincere praise
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of flattery
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English flaterie, from Middle French, equivalent to flat(er) “to flatter” + -erie noun suffix; see flatter 1, -ery
Explanation
Flattery is excessive praise. If you're hoping to borrow your brother's car, be careful not to overdo it when you compliment his haircut, new shoes, and singing voice — he knows flattery when he sees it. As opposed to real praise, flattery is insincere and almost always has an ulterior motive. The Old English root word of flatter is flater, which originally meant "to stroke with the hand or caress." When you stroke someone's ego to get what you want, you're using flattery. If the person you are wildly complimenting tells you that flattery will get you nowhere, you know it's time to back off.
Vocabulary lists containing flattery
Gathering Blue
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"The Necklace" and "The Fashion Show"
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Like Trump's, Xi's remarks were heavy on flattery, focusing on cultural ties and shared history between the US and China.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
When contact is established, scammers work to build trust through flattery, shared personal experiences, romantic interest, fake testimonials and, yes, promises of love or money, the bureau adds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
“I know his flattery is fake, but I don’t care,” said Mom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Graham was, rhetorically, almost pathetically in Trump’s thrall, heaping flattery onto a president who’d once posted Graham’s phone number online for mass harassment.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Indeed, at first Lawrence seemed to let Harvard’s flattery go to his head.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Flattery in state media underscored the dictator’s need to establish cult-of-personality supremacy as a smokescreen for his nation’s woes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Mr McKeown's partner Vicky Flattery added: "John literally wouldn't be here today without everything Demi did."
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2023
In the Cape Flattery School District in Neah Bay, the Makah Tribe partners with schools to offer a dual language program.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
Flattery from a president, though I wouldn’t know, is likely addictive.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 27, 2021
We make it to the trailhead at Cape Flattery.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
But I learned as little about Herman from these flatteries as I did from Einhorn’s gushing cliches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2021
Fresh and unspoiled, she trod the social labyrinth undeviatingly, received the flatteries, even the open devotion, of half a hundred men with caution, and remained—herself.
From The Transgression of Andrew Vane a novel by Guy Wetmore Carryl
This was such a proportion of sense and shrewdness as sudden wealth and its destructive flatteries had no power to assail.
From Nevermore by Rolf Bolderwood
Thereupon several young men approached her and favored her with an assortment of the insipid, commonplace flatteries of which such a prodigious supply is ordinarily consumed in fashionable salons.
From San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams by Charles Paul de Kock
He seemed not to acknowledge the flatteries, that fell like showers of roses, and that too from the ruby lips and lustrous eyes of princes' daughters, thick upon him.
From Curiosities of Human Nature by Anonymous
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
